Nikon

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EveryThing You Ever Wanted to Know About Nikon Cameras and Photographic Equipment, Officially Nikon imaging,
but Hesitated in Being Branded an Old-Timer

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in the arena of professional photography and its sacred equipments, a clear hierarchy has always been in place
from the German hard-core lens, through the influx of Japanese delicate SLR’s spear-heading the “monozukuri” mania over the seventies, sprinkled by incredible Polaroid instant-cameras to the apparition of video camcorders through nineties and an endless fiesta of compact digital cameras onto the Millennium, accentuated by a new kind of mirror-less wonders, phew

[ Official imports ]
a common culprit when purchasing a digital camera in South Korea is :

Japanese domestic models available at most camera store area such as NamPoDong in the Port City of Busan or Pusan, and in the Capital of Seoul : NamDaeMoon (South Gate) which is the camera wholesale district .
( more at my Electronics Districts Page on top menu )
Pros : independent merchants bring it a few days after Japanese release with much more color variation than Official Exports,
Cons : you have to send it back to Japan via purchase point in case of repair,

international models sold at Export corners of larger discount outlets in Japan such as Yodobashi Camera, Big Camera, Sakuraya and Sof Map
or rightfully at Duty-Free Corners at Airports and tourist locations .
Pros & Cons : released later than domestic models but faster than Korean imports so a mediocre choice, but Korean importer may drag on repair for responsibility is up in the Air ..

Official Korean imports sold by local importers
Pros : (suposedly) solid local product support,
Cons : could take several Months after release in Japan with much less color variations, and also 10~20% more expensive than Japanese discount outlets .

[ CUSTOMER & PRODUCT SUPPORT – REPAIRS ]

as I accentuate over-and-over on this BLog and why this is comes before in explaining any electronics manufacturer brand,
is that you have to know where to go for repair,
for electronics is physically fragile and especially those with LCD monitors of any size .

well, the BAD news first :
although South Korea has gained much momentum over the Millennium as a Global iT PowerHouse, a wide array of electronical goodies come from its neighboring Japan . and in the past Decade and before influx of Apple, almost all did, aside from the premium-priced hardwares from solid Germany .

even a Decade past the Millennium, domestic makers hold the epidome of consumer satisfaction on both customer AND product support . and it has all to do with money . because the larger conglomerates like SamSung and LG can afford to do so, they have a long~ history of keeping customers coming back from the early humble days . and thus your curiosity solved, on why SamSung digital cameras rank high-up on local price-comparison sites .

ofcourse then comes the conglomerates on lower tier, such as DaeWoo and TG Trigem known locally as SamBo Computers . after-which all other manufacturers, including electronics will require psychological warfare . I say psychological, for even in Korean consumer’s mind-set : no-questioned-asked refunds and exchanges within a Month known as the norm States-side is a modern myth, for the rite of consumer purchase is a price tug-of-war and absolutely no come-backs as still practiced on some apparel buildings in DongDaeMun (East Gate).

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only two exceptions to this, early Millennium as the earlier in Cesco came to the scene with bug control, immediately answering every single inquiry on their website,
and then later in the decade a revolutionary company ipTime came to dominate the network router market with dependable products as well as kind response to inquiries and forgiving repair policies .

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the problem is rooted in the business mind of the importers, whose objective is to make quick money than keep the foreign manufacturer’s brand name aLive . the most notorious is Sony Korea and Nikon Korea a close second . their psyche comes from the days when all shiny electronics goodies came from abroad, and they were sort-of Jesus Christ, the relayer of holy message in products . I personally have had over-turning success when contacting customer relations at the head company in Japan and even in the States .

I would include Apple Korea too, but not since they now have a lenient refund policy on products bought at their Official on-Line Store, but all-the-same guerilla tactics from Support Centers in their Premium ReSellers . so if you need repair : better go to repair centers NOT at Premium ReSellers or Shops .

Canon and HP have somewhat migrated and adapted into Korean living and thinking mainly due to their copy machines long-used extensively in South Korea . Panasonic and Pentax have a loose support system, for the better for consumers because they do sometimes repair unofficial imports bought in neighboring Japan, and because a bulk of their support centers seem to be contracted our-sources, it depends upon each location and region .

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[ NIKON SHOWROOM ]

it really is interesting how each manufacturer when imported into South Korea take difference stance on location and operation of showrooms as well as support centers . for example, while Sony and Panasonic show off theirs in the most prime real-estate in all of the Capital of Seoul, and thus the whole of Korea, Nikon has opted to disperse in more unique areas .

first-off digital cameras and camcorders are taken care of by Nikon image Korea . and their main sales outlets are divided into 3 camps :

Nikon Zone ShowRooms,

Nikon Shops which are contracted Nikon-dedicated stores,

and Specialty Shops which are camera stores selling other brands as well,

Seoul Subway Line 1 YoungDeungPo Station Exit 3 or 6 and on the next block to your Left
leading to the latest deluxe shopping mall Times Square ~
where the fourth and underground floors have ample restaurants in case you need to feed-up and come back 😉

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then at the other side of town in the one of the earliest and oldest Korean shopping complex :
Lotte Mart JamSil Branch Ground Floor Digital Park, Tel.02-411-8101

YongSan iPark Mall Electronics Building 4th Floor Store 920, Tel.02-2012-2045
Seoul Subway Line 4 Shin YongSan Station Exit 4 and in front of you across the street
or closer Subway Line 1 YongSan Station and KTX Bullet Train Station are beneath this iPark Mall Complex

and if you take the over-path link from 2~3 Floor of iPark Mall North onto the 3rd Floor of YongSan Bus Terminal Building 2nd Floor there is another dedicated Nikon Shop at Store 29, Tel.02-711-8902/3

[ NIKON REPAIRS ]
Panasonic Korea warranty is for a Year and so is Nikon, but if you sign-up on their Website you will get a free SECOND Year extension – as of early June, 2012 . this is applied on camera as well as lens, where-as Panasonic only applies to camera but THREE Years !

Nikon Korea has about two-dozen repair centers throughout South Korea with half in the metropolitan Seoul and its satellite cities, of which most noteable are :

NamDaeMoon (South Gate) Center at SaeRoNa Department Store ground Floor
come take a look at how early Korean department stores used to look like
in the photographic equipment wholesale district

Seoul Subway HwaeHyun Station Exit 6 and make your way North through Seoul’s old open market, until the next big automobile street where NamDaeMoon (South Gate) leads to MyeongDong
9am~7pm business weekdays Tel.02-752-9198

TechnoMart 4th Floor Shop A-1 Tel.02-3424-4490
awe at the first electronics-dedicated shopping building in all of Koreas
lower floors domestic makers and middle foreign imports
while top floors computers, cell phone and restaurants

Seoul Subway Line 2 KangByeon Station and linked underground via Exit 1 and 2
open WeekDays 10am~7:30pm, Saturday until 3pm
and closed every 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the Month

Actually we DO have a Nikon Page under [Brand] on top menu,
as I was a Nikon-person myself before turning Panasonic & Sony .

LOWEST South Korean price TODAY at larger On-Line malls and to illustrate
how discounts work to be CHEAPER than Duty-Free Stores at Airports 😉
– Nikon D5200 body W970,000
– with 18~55mm VR W1,120,000
looking at this, 18~55mm option has less price difference than india so you should choose this .

further-more, LotteiMall.com run by a conglomerate (thus more generous on exchanges and refunds)
would slash 18~55mm to W961,000 if you pay with ShinHan Credit Card (this kind of discount comes-and-goes regularly)
and is the BEST deal for today //http://www.lotteimall.com/product/Product.jsp?i_code=10053201

I recommend expatriates buy Official Korean imports – which this is – if you plan to be here for at least 6 Months, due to product support, as cameras are delicate blend of mechanics & electronics, and you can re-sell popular models (D5200 is fairly) at local On-Line DSLR communities when you leave . so if you have residency, it is frugal to sign-up for a couple of local credit cards . and if you don’t : a local colleague or friend wouldn’t refuse if you pay them cash up-front, because they can accumulate mileage/points .

I had many indian friends while in school, and never had the chance to venture around GoJae island while living in Busan . Good Luck and hope you can show me the best Samosa place when you come to iTaewon, SEOUL